Age of Learning Announces Adventure Academy™, the World’s First AAA Educational Massively Multiplayer Online Game

Adventure Academy provides elementary and middle school age children
an immersive, interactive learning adventure where they can explore an
ever-expanding virtual world while building critical academic knowledge
and skills

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Age of Learning, Inc.®, the creator of the highly successful ABCmouse®
online learning program used by millions of children ages 2 to 8, today
announced the upcoming release of Adventure
Academy, a massively multiplayer online game for elementary and
middle school age children featuring thousands of learning activities in
a fun and safe virtual world. Available for families on computers,
tablets, and smartphones beginning May 1st, Adventure Academy
“brings learning to life”™ as it builds critical knowledge of essential
curriculum topics in language arts, math, science, social studies, and
more.

Age of Learning developed Adventure Academy to address the
alarmingly low levels of academic proficiency among elementary and
middle school students, prioritizing the areas the National Assessment
of Educational Progress has consistently shown a majority of American
students are not proficient in, including reading, math, and science.
Adventure Academy offers learners opportunities to explore hundreds
of topics within these subjects and learn in ways that are highly
engaging and effective.

With a substantial investment over the past three years, commensurate
with those made in other premier (or “AAA”) online games, Age of
Learning assembled a world-class team of curriculum and instructional
design experts, master teachers, game designers, artists, animators, and
engineers to build Adventure Academy with the quality and
engaging features of a AAA game. The curriculum team comprises experts
with hundreds of years of combined classroom and curriculum development
experience. The game development process is led by creators of some of
the most successful titles in the history of online gaming, including
Kevin Beardslee, one of the original creators of World of Warcraft®;
and Alex Galvagni, former General Manager of leading game studio Turbine®,
creators of The Lord of the Rings Online®, Batman:
Arkham Underworld™, Dungeons and Dragons Online®,
and Game of Thrones Conquest®.

Age of Learning has brought the same curriculum-first approach to Adventure
Academy that it successfully used in creating ABCmouse, which has
helped educate nearly 20 million children to date. A
dozen research studies, including several randomized controlled trials,
show that ABCmouse accelerates learning and drives significant gains in
literacy and math with as little as 45 minutes of usage per week.

“Our sole focus at Age of Learning is to help children build a strong
foundation for academic success,” said Doug Dohring, founder and CEO of
Age of Learning. “Our outstanding team has executed on this mission for
many years, developing highly engaging and effective educational
programs that early learners enjoy, and families and teachers trust. Adventure
Academy allows us to now meet parents’ demands to bring learning to
life for older students during the critical elementary and middle school
years.”

In developing Adventure Academy, Age of Learning’s curriculum
leadership conducted an in-depth review of state, national, and
international educational standards, and collaborated with practicing
teachers across the United States to identify the highest priority
curriculum topics that students have the most difficulty with in school.
As a result, the Adventure Academy curriculum emphasizes key
topics such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development,
mathematical operations, fractions, world geography, American history,
physical science, life science, earth science, and scientific inquiry.

“Too many of our students struggle in elementary school and beyond
because of gaps in their understanding of key academic knowledge and
skills,” said Kimberly Oliver Burnim, a National Teacher of the Year and
Age of Learning Curriculum Board Member. “There’s never been an
educational program like Adventure Academy, which can engage
elementary and middle school students so fully and help them grasp
challenging concepts so effectively. It’s a revolutionary resource for
families.”

At launch, Adventure Academy will focus primarily on concepts and
skills taught in 3rd through 6th grades. Not only is Adventure Academy
an invaluable resource for elementary students, but also for middle
school students who would benefit from a comprehensive review of these
topics and the opportunity to fill in gaps from earlier grades. Over
time Adventure Academy will continually add new content,
expanding and advancing the curricular breadth and depth.

“It’s amazing to hear my son talk about what he learned in the game and
connect it to everyday experiences,” said Sally Bjorklund, whose son was
one of the early adopters of Adventure Academy. “We recently
visited a science museum and one of his favorite exhibits was a pulley
system that looked identical to the one in Adventure Academy.
He was so excited to show us how it worked! Having this tool has been
invaluable for our family.”

Adventure Academy includes these key features:

Thousands of learning activities across hundreds of topics, including
curriculum-based games, books, a wide range of other types of reading
materials, educational videos, and additional interactive experiences
addressing all major academic domains.

Hundreds of hours of educational interaction and gameplay, with
hundreds of additional hours to be added in the near future.

Learners create avatars to explore an ever-expanding world, complete
learning quests to unlock new zones, and interact with other learners.

The same engaging experience across all platforms—smartphones,
tablets, and computers—with the ability for up to three children in
the same household to play simultaneously within the same parent
account with individual profiles.

Safe social elements that enable players to interact with other
learners in-game, including filtered chat functionality. Parents
control the level of interaction their children have with other
learners through this filtered chat and can block all in-game
communication, if desired.

The Adventure Academy™ app will be available through the Apple
App Store or Google Play and can also be accessed at www.adventureacademy.com.
Families can purchase an annual subscription for less than $5 per month,
or a month-to-month subscription for $9.99, both including up to three
separate student profiles per household.

About Age of Learning, Inc.

Age
of Learning is a leading education technology innovator, creating
engaging and effective learning resources to help children build a
strong foundation for academic success. Based in Los Angeles, the
company is Bringing Learning to Life® by blending educational
expertise, innovative technology, and insightful creativity. Age of
Learning’s flagship product in the U.S., ABCmouse.com®Early
Learning Academy, is a comprehensive curriculum for preschool
through 2nd grade, available on all major digital platforms and used by
millions of children. Age of Learning recently launched ReadingIQ™, an
advanced digital library for children 12 and under designed by literacy
experts, with thousands of high-quality books from leading publishers,
including the largest collection of National Geographic Kids digital
titles available anywhere. Connect with Age of Learning on LinkedIn,
Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.